VW Golf Mk VI 1.6 tdi BM Match - Replace all glow plugs or just the defective one?

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Tue 12 Nov 2019 11:22
VW Golf Mk VI 1.6 tdi BM Match - Replace all glow plugs or just the defective one? - David700

Engine Management light came on immediately after MOT at 7 years (66k miles) - a coincidence I think - so booked into main dealer for diagnosis as I feared problem might be associated with EA189 emissions fix which I was still under the limited 2 year VW UK warranty. Turned out to be a defective glow plug which was not associated with the fix. No complaints about the service I received from the dealer or the cost but surprised that the opportunity was not taken to replace all 4 glow plugs at the same time as I imagine once one fails the rest will likely follow. I was told that it was VW policy only to replace the defective one but not being a mechanic (but not being stupid either) this left me feeling a little suspicious about their motives (i.e. repeat business). Am I wrong to be suspicious?

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Tue 12 Nov 2019 13:07
VW Golf Mk VI 1.6 tdi BM Match - Replace all glow plugs or just the defective one? - elekie&a/c doctor
Depends how you look at the fault . The glow plugs have all done the same amount of work , so thinking logically, if one has failed , then the others could be not far behind . Not much extra labour to replace the remainder.
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Tue 12 Nov 2019 13:12
VW Golf Mk VI 1.6 tdi BM Match - Replace all glow plugs or just the defective one? - sandy56

Glow plug is just a heater, so no reason to replace them all, as VW has stated.

It is easy to test them if you want to but if they are working ok once the new one is in, then why bother.

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Tue 12 Nov 2019 16:24
VW Golf Mk VI 1.6 tdi BM Match - Replace all glow plugs or just the defective one? - madf

My experience is that glowplugs tend to fail one after the other in a period of 6 months or so.. (did on Yaris and Peugeot 106. Replaced two on Yaris - others failed within 3 months)

IF replacement requires lots of dismantling (Jaguar V6s?) then it makes sense to replace them all..at once..

Often problems are caused by road spray corroding the casing , damp entering and shorting the internals.. If so, they may all fail fairly quickly..

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